The British summer is set for one last hurrah this weekend with the mercury due to soar up to eight degrees above average in some parts of the country.

Following a week of sunshine, temperatures could hit 26C on Saturday in eastern parts of England, with the rest of the UK expected to reach at least the high teens or low 20s.

Emma Smith, a Met Office meteorologist, said: "As we go into Friday afternoon and evening, the temperature is starting to get a bit warmer.

"We are looking to 21C to 22C today and the same into Saturday."

"In eastern areas, we are likely to see 26C as a maximum temperature - this time of year we should have a maximum of 18C or 19C in London."

The warm weather will not stick around for long as the tail end of Hurricane Humberto blows towards the UK from the Bahamas, bringing wind and rain from Monday - the first day of autumn.

Ms Smith said: "On Sunday, the temperature will start to turn downwards - we could still see a high of 24C but that will be quite isolated in the east of England."

"From there on in, we do get unsettled weather day by day with temperatures falling down to where they should be for this time of year.

"Hurricane Humberto is moving towards us and becoming very quickly downgraded so it's not going to be a hurricane by the time it gets to us, but it will bring with it wet and windy weather."

She added: "It will be quite unstable all next week with low pressure coming towards us through the jet stream.

"On Tuesday there will be widespread showers - the heaviest showers will be in the South West with a few rumbles of thunder.

"Most of the rain will be in the North West and there's a risk of gales, so it will be quite an unsettled end to the month."